Utter desolation of Babylon
Key Verses: 4, 20,
Contrast the weeping and mourning of
those involved in commerce and the people of God rejoicing. The first nineteen
verses outline the destruction of this city that was the center of commerce, a
city that fell from power in one hour.
It would be tempting to look at these
events through the lens of 9/11. The world economy took a nose-dive following
the attack. We have still not recovered. Our world was changed in an hour. The
delusion that peace was in human hands was confronted. We in the West are still
trying to solve this problem with human solutions, and thus we fail. I could
probably write a book or two starting with this as the premise and it would
probably sell. But I won't, because I think it would be wrong. The city was not
destroyed, only a few buildings.
The solution is not in human hands.
Solving economic disparities will not solve our problems. Our problem is not an
economic one, despite the pronouncements from Washington. Our problem is a
spiritual one. We are not willing to repent, as individuals and as a nation. We
aren't willing to yield to Jesus. We want to be in charge. We want to think
that we can solve any problem that we face. We think we are smart enough to
“fix” humanity and the world.
God's people are called out of this
city. We will be given some time to evacuate. We won't be part of the coming
judgment of this place. The worldview of this city must be avoided in our lives
today. We must confront those areas where we have adopted the worldview of this
city.
Other nations will watch and
understand that what is happening to this city is a judgment from God. Their
lives will also take an inevitable turn for the worse as a result of what happens
in one day. Economic ruin will result. Music will and the finer things in life
will stop. Trade will stop. Daily activities will stop. Weddings will stop.
I think this city is more than just a
physical city. The last verse of this chapter says that the city holds the
blood of all believers who have been martyred down through history. No one city
has that distinction. It might be easy to label Jerusalem as the city, it would
fit with the theology of that time. But even then, some died outside Jerusalem.
But I will have to, like you, find out exactly what John saw and what Jesus
meant on another day.